1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to monorail trains and, more particularly, to model, or toy, trains.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Toy trains have been a staple of children growing up and hobbyists for almost as long as trains themselves have been in existence. Along the same vein, toy monorail trains, the vehicles and their rail system, have been the subject of previous interest, as seen U.S. Pat. No. 3,115,845 issued to A. Girz. No prior art has proposed a suspended monorail toy train particularly designed for suspension from a ceiling or other support structure. The advantages of such an orientation lie principally in the space-saving considerations inherent in such an arrangement as well as the novelty associated with the arrangement. Other advantages of the monorail toy train include the out of the way storage inherent in the train and the dramatic inclusion of height in the train layout.
Hanging or suspended vehicles are shown in the prior art, a truck is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 719,751 issued to D. Condon. Condon is not a toy but does show racks which mesh with pinions of the truck to enable the truck to make vertical climbs in a spiral elevator configuration.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,922,970 issued to H. Glastra shows a miniature train system including a track formed from two cylindrical elongated elements defining rails. A power truck of the driving car fits between the rails and the carrying unit of the cars, and envelopes or other goods to be transported hang outward or below the track as the car travels on the track. The car is capable of moving along the track in an inverted position and includes a positive drive means, including pins on the rails and cog wheels on the cars, in order to make vertical travel possible.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,540,153 issued to M. Aoki shows toothed wheels in the mating track which enable a toy vehicle to travel up inclines and in an inverted orientation. Aoki is a toy and does disclose both vertical climbing and inverted travel.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,974,330 issued to E. Groff shows a toy train having coupling means between adjacent cars. U.S. Pat. No. 2,106,698 issued to J. Bonanno shows a wheel with vestibule section coupling adjacent trains.
West German Patent No. 1,085,553 shows the use of flexible intermediate sections to pivot track sections about a pin, forming a switch.
The only toy monorail, and that of a non-suspended type, is noted in the aforesaid patent to A. Girz.
A suspension device for carrying a door or the like is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,889,112 issued to R. Shoemaker. Shoemaker shows a wheel truck for relatively easy transition between intersecting track portions.
The prior art does not show or suggest a suspended toy monorail train and consequently, the structural means for accomplishing a suspended monorail toy train are not shown.
Though there is a showing in the prior art, i.e., Condon, of a suspended transportation system, such a suspended transportation system does not show connection of a number of guideway sections to form an electrically-conductive track for receiving a power truck for a drive car of a monorail train.